Howerton v. Cal. Dept. of Social Services CA4/1

Filed 3/7/22 Howerton v. Cal. Dept. of Social Services CA4/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). Thi s opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

COURT OF APPEAL, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

JEFFREY HOWERTON, D078322

Plaintiff and Appellant,

v. (Super. Ct. No. 37-2019- 00033334-CU-WM-CTL) CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES et al.,

Defendants and Respondents.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of San Diego County, Timothy Taylor, Judge. Affirmed. Jeffrey Howerton, in pro. per. for Plaintiff and Appellant. No appearance by Defendants and Respondents. Jeffrey Howerton appeals the trial court’s dismissal of the action without prejudice due to abandonment. We affirm. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND Howerton does not provide us with a statement of relevant facts or events, and the record on appeal does not include documents filed in the

underlying action. Accordingly, we take the following facts from the register of actions supplied in the record. On June 25, 2019, Howerton filed a petition for writ of mandate in superior court. Howerton filed several proofs of service on July 2, 2019. On July 5, 2019, Howerton filed a notice of related case, followed by several proofs of service on July 10, 2019. On July 15, 2019, Howerton filed motions for disclosure and production of confidential information and to join additional state agencies. He also filed two proofs of service that day and one the following day. Howerton filed another notice of related case on July 30, 2019, as well as a proof of service. The same day, Howerton filed a request for entry of default, which was denied the following day. Howerton filed another motion on July 31, 2019, as well as a proof of service. Between August 1, 2019, and May 26, 2020, Howerton filed 10 notices of related cases. Proofs of service were filed shortly after each notice. On July 30, 2020, the court issued an order to show cause (OSC) for why the matter should not be dismissed. It set the hearing for September 11, 2020. No parties responded. The court generated and served the minutes. On September 11, 2020, the court issued an OSC for why the matter should not be dismissed and set the hearing for November 6, 2020. No parties responded to the court’s OSC. Nor did any parties appear at the hearing on November 6, 2020. The court found the case abandoned and